Charles Leclerc says there may be extra tempo in his driving and that he didn’t put collectively clear laps regardless of setting the quickest time of Friday follow on the Monaco Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton was quickest in FP1 however Leclerc then pulled away from the sector within the second session, posting a 1m11.278s that eclipsed final yr’s pole time and left him practically 0.2s away from his future Ferrari teammate. That point got here on the comfortable compound tire however Leclerc says he wasn’t blissful together with his efficiency throughout that run, and believes there may be loads of room for enchancment.
“I believe on the mediums we had been actually sturdy,” Leclerc mentioned. “On the comfortable, we struggled to place all the things collectively. There was lots of site visitors all the way in which, however all in all, we have now automobile for the second. I really feel fairly assured with the automobile. Nevertheless, it’s super-important that we preserve this rhythm into FP3 as a result of it’s the way in which Monaco is.
“I may need taken extra danger in comparison with the others in the present day, which paid off. Nevertheless, it’s all about tomorrow when all people begins to go on the restrict. Till now, we have now finished a extremely good job. We have to preserve working, preserve specializing in ourselves, but it surely’s a optimistic first day.
“There may be extra tempo in me simply placing all the things collectively. In the event you have a look at my three sectors, there was a fairly a little bit of lap time in them while you put all of it collectively. In order that would be the foremost focus for tomorrow, however let’s say that the efficiency and feeling is there.”
Though Crimson Bull is struggling, with Max Verstappen saying there isn’t any apparent repair for the crew as its automobile inherently doesn’t work on the Monaco circuit, Leclerc says he’s not taking something as a right.
“I believe we arrived right here understanding that something was doable,” he mentioned. “In 2021, we didn’t have automobile however coming into Monaco the traits of our automobile had been becoming that very specific observe properly and we had been quick.
“This weekend we appear quick. Mercedes have been struggling for the reason that starting of the season however they’re very quick this weekend, so we count on them to be simply the identical tomorrow. Lewis has been on all of it day, so we have now acquired to maximise all the things tomorrow and hopefully we’ll put it on pole.
“I’ve had two [Monaco] poles prior to now, however then the Sunday end result was not the one I wished. So if we handle to take action, which is the perfect beginning place for Sunday, we’ll must focus properly on Sunday as a way to put all the things collectively and to lastly get that win.”
